City leaders enforce local residency rule, but MPS says district employees can move

The Milwaukee Police Association is asking a judge to order the city of Milwaukee to obey a new state law that allows public-sector employees to move out of the city, while the city's school superintendent said teachers can now move outside the city.

The police association's lawsuit was filed late Wednesday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. The police union's lawsuit said the city's failure to comply with the law, signed June 30 by Gov. Scott Walker, deprives officers of their right to live where they choose, free of the threat of being fired for violating the city's residency rule.

Mayor Tom Barrett said he continues to believe the 75-year-old residency rule is legal.

Last week, the Common Council voted to continue enforcing the residency rule and authorized City Attorney Grant Langley to file suit challenging the new state law.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Thornton issued a letter informing district employees that they are free to relocate outside the city's borders.

In the letter, Thornton said the city attorney for Milwaukee advised the district that the state's law precluding residency requirements specifically addresses school districts.

According to the statement from the City Attorney's Office, "All MPS employees are therefore allowed, as of July 2, 2013, to live outside the City of Milwaukee without risk of disciplinary action (i.e. termination)."

MILWAUKEE TEACHERS CAN LIVE WHERE THEY WANT TO LIVE. THE SCHOOL DISTRICT NOW SAYING IT WON'T FIGHT THE STATE'S NEW BAN ON RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS. KENT WAINSCOTT IS LIVE WITH A LOOK AT THE POSSIBLE SHAKEUP FOR LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS, NEW AT SIX.. THE DOOR IS NOW OPEN FOR TEACHERS HERE AT NEESKARA ELEMENTARY AND ALL M-P-S EMPLOYEES TO MOVE OUT OF MILWAUKEE. WE TRIED TO TALK WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT TODAY - HE WOULDN'T GO ON CAMERA, BUT HIS DECISION WILL LIKELY IMPACT CITY NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE THIS ONE -- AND SURROUNDING SUBURBS WHICH, HERE, IS JUST THREE BLOCKS UP THE STREET. THERE MAY SOON BE MORE FOR SALE SIGNS IN NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE ENDERIS PARK. AND THAT HAS MARGARET DESCH CONCERNED. SHE'S ONE OF MANY MPS TEACHERS WHO LIVE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. SHE'S NOT MOVING OUT -- BUT IS WORRIED THAT SOME OF HER NEIGHBORS MIGHT. MARGARET DESCH/MPS TEACHER - I JUST HOPE THERE ISN'T A LOT OF DEPARTURE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD. MARGARET DESCH/MPS TEACHER - I WOULD HOPE THAT IT WOULDN'T BE TOO DRAMATIC, THAT PEOPLE WOULD STAY, LIKE ME. BUT WISN-12 NEWS FOUND IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING. REALTOR SHAR BORG TELLING US SOME TEACHERS ARE ACTING FAST. SHAR BORG/REALTOR - ONE OF MY CLIENTS GOT A LETTER YESTERDAY FROM MR. THORNTON AND SHE CALLED ME WITHIN MINUTES AND SAID, OKAY, LET'S PUT THE HOUSE ON THE MARKET IT'S TIME TO MOVE. THE MPS ANNOUNCEMENT CAME WITHOUT FANFARE - A SMALL POSTING ON THE DISTRICT'S WEBSITE AND A LETTER TO EMPLOYEES ANNOUNCING THE END OF RESIDENCY RESTRICTION. AND WORD SPREAD FAST - EVEN BEYOND THE CITY, TO PEOPLE LIKE TOM AND MARY KEPPELER WHO WANT TO MOVE FROM MENOMONEE FALLS INTO MILWAUKEE. TOM KEPPELER /MENOMONEE FALLS - WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU? -- WELL MY FIRST THOUGHT IS THERE WILL PROBABLY BE SOME MORE HOUSES TO LOOK AT IN DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS. IT COULD IMPACT HOME SALES ALL OVER THE AREA -- BUT BORG SAYS THE BIGGEST HIT WILL BE IN MILWAUKEE, IF ENOUGH MPS EMPLOYEES CHOOSE TO LEAVE. SHAR BORG/REALTOR - YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE AN INFLUX OF INVENTORY AND NOT AS MANY BUYERS AND THAT'S GOING TO SLOW DOWN OUR IMPROVEMENT AND OUR GROWTH. THIS MOVE BY M-P-S HAS RE-IGNITED A HOT- BUTTON ISSUE -- WE TALKED TO A NUMBER OF M-P-S TEACHERS TODAY, SOME WHO TELL US THEY PLAN TO MOVE - OTHERS WHO WANT TO STAY IN THE CITY. BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO TALK TO US ON CAMERA BECAUSE OF THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE RESIDENCY DEBATE. SOME OTHER INFORMATION ON RESIDENCY. GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER LIFTED THE RESTRICTION, AS PART OF THE NEW STATE BUDGET. BUT THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE SAYS IT WILL KEEP RESIDENCY IN FORCE... REQUIRING POLICE, FIREFIGHTERS, AND OTHERS TO LIVE WITHIN CITY LIMITS. THE HEAD OF THE MILWAUKEE POLICE UNION AND THREE OFFICERS ARE SUING TO FORCE THE CITY TO COMPLY WITH STATE LAW.